Demetri Mason, Daughter of who?
by THECRO
Summary: Nico di Angelo finds a girl in the city, she is clearly a demigod. But who is she? Who is her Olympian parent? What consequences will there be because of her parent? Why is this girl so hostile towards everyone?  Find out this and more in this story...
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

I ran around the corner, panting, hoping that it couldn't smell as good as the others could. I heard heavy paw steps. _No luck today!_ It had been 6 years since my dad died. Six long years. Most of the time I had stayed in a cave, stealing my food from a nearby town. I had no idea where on earth I had lived for four years. This year, I got a craving; a craving for adventure. _Be careful what you wish for! _ After all these years and my father's motto still rang in my ears. The paw steps stopped. Then they started again. I needed to move. I have no idea how a Giant dog can just creep up on you, especially when you can hear their footsteps. Unfortunately, these dogs are experts at it and in the split second I moved I was down again. The wretched beast jumped on me. The giant dark grey dog looked down at me, it's jaws ready to tear and it's eyes hungry for the kill. I looked for options. I had dropped my bow and arrow and the dog had stepped on them. Anyways, there was no way that I could shoot at this range. _Dagger!_ I thought. It was my only choice. I didn't use it very much and I didn't really like to, but it was life or death here. Then I looked back at it's eyes. It was hesitating, enjoying my moment of panic, but it was tense. I knew that if I moved it would clamp down on whatever limb happened to be there. I slowly, tentatively moved my right hand ever so slightly down, even though the dagger was on the other side. I saw the dogs eyes dart to it. _Now!_ Quick as lightning, I pulled out my dagger with my left hand and thrust the weapon upwards. The hound's eyes widened in terror, but then they turned to dust, along with the rest of its body. Naturally, the dust had the nerve to fall directly on top of me. I picked up my dagger. A streetlight flickered. I glanced up warily, expecting the worst. _Stop acting like such a scaredy cat! _I told myself sternly. I sighed and walked over to pick up my broken bow. "Nice job, taking care of that Hellhound." I whirled around. There, leaning against a brick building was a boy. He was dressed from head to toe with black; he also wore a black cape and a long, black sword hung at his side. He had shoulder-length, black, silky hair and pale skin. His eyes were so dark that they looked as black as the sword. But his eyes shone with intelligence. "Not very many demigods can think fast enough to trick one, let alone kill one." Who was this kid? "Who are you?"

"Nico DiAngelo. And who might you be?"

"What's it to you?" I growled. A year on the streets had taught me not to trust anyone, ever. "I might be able to help you. I can get you to safety. The only safe place for people like us, actually. You will always have food, shelter and be able to make some friends too." He was trying to persuade me into something. Why? Besides I was doing perfectly well without his special "food" and "shelter". He was probably going to kill me.

"I'm doing perfectly well, thank you!" I replied hotly. But the boy seemed unfazed. "What's you name?" he urged. I hesitated. All the other talking killers had somehow knew my name without being told. "Mason. Demetri Mason. Now what are you getting at?" I asked testily. HE avoided the question, as expected. "How long have you been on your own?" How did he know that I was an orphan? But my mouth spoke before my mind could reach it to tell it not to. "Six years."

"Six years?" He looked impressed. "That's a long time. How often are you attacked?"

I ran out of patience. _Never had much anyways!_ "Bug off!"

Nico sighed. "Look, hold on to my hand."

I blushed. "What? No!"

Now he was blushing. "I've got to take you to Camp Half-Blood. It's the only safe place for kids like us."

"Kids like us?"

"Yeah. Demigods. Half-bloods." I looked at him like he was crazy, which he probably was. "Demigods?" I asked. I remembered when I was little we had a big book of Greek Myths. I loved those stories, though I've forgotten most fo them now. Demigods were Half-god half-human. He nodded. " Demigods, Half god, half mortal. Which one of your parents have you never seen?" I remembered going to kindergarten and all the other kids would talk about their moms, but I could never talk about it. When I got home from the first day I asked why I had no mom. "Demi," He said, with a twinkle in his eyes, as there always was, "You do have a mom. But your mom is special. So special that however much she loves you, however much she wants to see you, she can't. And she does love you." He added. "She loves you so much that she's not allowed to see you. Does that make sense?" I nodded, even though I didn't understand. I stood there for a moment lost in memories, but then I remembered Nico was still waiting for an answer. "My mom. I've never seen my mom." I glance behind me and saw the sun coming up over the ridge. I needed to get out of sight, before someone had a chance to see me. "I have to go. Bye!" I turned and ran. I heard his footsteps behind me, but gradually they grew fainter. Good. I'd left him behind. But I couldn't leave the memories he stirred.

I looked around. I was dreaming again. I saw my father, with his short auburn hair moving slightly in the breeze. He was walking with a woman I had never seen before.

She had long silvery hair and her eyes were silver too. She had sharp features, but not too sharp. They were laughing. "No, but really, you're a Greek Goddess?" I heard my father say. "Yes, I am." The woman had a clear voice, but it was in an accent that I didn't recognize. "Prove it."

"If you say so." At that there was a bright flash of light, and when I looked back again the woman was gone. But in her place was a twelve year old girl with long brown hair. She was dressed like Robin Hood, only the clothes were grey and looked more like a royal hunter than bandits' clothes. My father was gaping. "This is the form I usually take." She said, her voice still had the accent but it was higher pitched. He walked around her, and tentatively reached out a hand to touch her as though he was afraid she was a hologram. He backed away to stare at her in wonder for a few moments before she changed back. "Now do you understand why I can't stay?" He nodded dumbly. " before I go away I have one request. In a few months time, as I have already told you, I will give birth. I want you to give him a Greek name, and teach him about Greek culture and the myths that you now know are real. One day he will have to find out who I am, and I want him to be ready." My fathers face looked sad as he answered. "Yes. I will give him a Greek name. I've always like the name Demetri anyways…" They hugged and then she was gone in a flash of light. The last thing I saw was my mother's face. Then I woke up. I sat up on my blanket, rubbing my eyes. My temporary home isn't much, but it's just enough to keep out most weather. I blinked. The sun was starting to set. Good. Soon I could go out and get some food. But then I heard Nico, that boy from last night, calling my name. I rolled up my blanket as I cursed. I would have to move. It wouldn't be long before he found my little house, and even less time after that to find me. I hurriedly stuffe everything into an old backpack, then stood up, about to leave. "Demetri? Demetri! Wait! Don't go!" But I was already running. Nico called again and again, but I kept running. I heard a slight whoosh sound as Nico threw a dagger at me. It must have been enchanted, because it must be impossible to throw something while running and not miss, but not hit, either. It pinned my sleeve to a wooden wall. "AAARRRGGHH!" I yelled, wanting to make sure he knew how angry I was. " You idiot! You could've killed me!" But Nico calmly walked up to me as I was prying the dagger out. He then pulled out his sword and held it at arms length, pointed at my neck. The sword glimmered beautifully in the dusk-light. Talk about deadly beauty. Slowly, inch by inch, he got closer to me. I was unable to move away because he would probably kill me. Then, in a lightning quick flash, he grabbed my hand and we fell into nothingness.

When I awoke, every part of my body ached. I was so tired I barely had the strength to stand up, let alone slap Nico. I wish I had enough energy for one good slap. I tried anyways. I gave a week slap to the side of his face, even though it couldn't have caused any pain, I mostly wanted to get the message across that I was not, in any way, happy. He stood up and brushed himself off, not minding my feeble slap. Perhaps this wasn't the first time. I struggled to stand up, but succeeded only until he grabbed me to make sure I wouldn't fall down again. " Shadow travel can be a bit tricky the first time." Nico said. His tone was slightly humorous, but his face said he was clearly worried. "Oh, shove off." I feebly pushed him away and almost fell over with him, I barely caught myself lurching forward. He sighed. I'd better take you to the Big House. Chiron will want to know you're here, and you'll need to rest up."

"Who's Chiron?"

"The, umm….activities director. He's the second in command at this camp. Mr. D is the first in command, but he's not very fond of, well, anyone.

"Who's Mr.-" I passed out. I had a dream where I knocked over a skeleton, then the skeleton carried me to a giant house where a horse and a giant eye laid me down in a bed. There was also a glass of wine there, but all he did was shoot grape juice at us.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Nico's POV

I didn't mean to go all bad guy on her, but she was really driving me crazy. I was just going to take her to camp half-blood, and then she would never have to see me again. Unfortunately, she has a really thick skull under all that beautiful brown hair. Now, normally I overlook the kids who are hiding their daggers, because clearly, how am I supposed to know that they're demigods? Well, I had spotted her bow and arrows and decided to follow her. Pretty soon I realized she was skulking around to steal food, which she clearly needed. Then I realized she was being followed by a Hellhound. I decided to see how she would defend herself, rescue her if she needed rescuing, and then take her to Camp Half-Blood. Easy as pie. She surprised me when she pulled out her dagger, but she also clearly had experience with Hellhounds. After she killed it, I revealed myself. She got all freaked out. I should have known better. Apparently, most people don't like to be snuck up on. Oh well. Just as the sun started to come up, she ran off; Zeus knows why. I ran after her, but she was a very fast runner, and could jump very high over things I had to scramble over. I eventually gave up and went to sleep. When I woke up the next morning I went searching for her again. I was trying to track her, but she clearly knew that I would be doing that and it was very hard. Eventually, I was so lost that I thought that perhaps she had had a change of heart and I started yelling her name. Big mistake. Apparently she was very close and had not changed at all. I barely saw a glimpse of her dark blue shirt running in between two brick buildings. I ran after her. I knew she would still be much faster, so I resorted to my small throwing knife. I barely use it, but when I do, it works excellently. It has a spell on so that if I want it to hit the person I'm aiming it I only have to say " " or "Kill, knife!" and the knife will hit the person. However, if I just want to startle or simply catch the person, I have to say Hit close, knife!" or " ". As soon as she came into view I yelled "Hit close, knife!" in Greek and it magically flew out of my hands and fastened her right sleeve to a large piece of wood. I felt bad, but this girl had given me a lot of trouble I walked quickly towards her because I saw she started to pull the knife out. She yelled at me "You idiot! You could've killed me! I pulled out my sword and held it up to her throat. She stopped talking. I was a couple feet away from her, but I had to be holding onto her to shadow-travel. I inched close to her warily; her green eyes sparked with intelligence and anger .A deadly combination. In one swift movement, I lowered my sword and grabbed her hand. We then commenced to shadow-traveling.

I remember the first time I shadow-traveled. I slept for a week. When we arrived at Camp Half-Blood she was almost as exhausted as I was. Not quite as much, though. When I had first arrived I went unconscious immediately; Demetri, not so much. She was not only awake, but awake enough to slap me. I would never admit it, but it did hurt quite a bit. She was clearly not happy. I stood up, trying not to let her know that it hurt." Shadow-Travel can be a bit tricky the first time" I said, trying to sound humorous. Then she tried to stand up. I was amazed. How could she possibly have done that? Even I as a bit woozy, and I had done it a thousand times. She looked like she was bout to fall over. She almost did, but luckily I was standing right next to her and wasn't quite angry enough to let her fall. "Oh shove off!" She pushed me back and I stumbled a bit she stumbled a little more, but she had her balance now. I sighed. "I'd better take you to the Big House. Chiron will want to see you, and you'll need to rest up."

"Who's Chiron?"

I hesitated. What could I say? That Chiron was a centaur? That it was none of her business? That Chiron was her teacher?

"The, umm…..activities director. He's the second in command at this camp. Mr.D is the first in command, but he's not very fond of, well, anyone." I decided it best to be blunt about Mr.D.

"Who's Mr.—" Then She passed out. She fell forwards, and knocked me over as she fell. I picked her up, and carried her to the Big House, Where Chiron and _(big eye) laid her down in a sick bed after Mr.D had tried to wake her up by slapping her.

I was worried about Demetri. It had been four days. On the first day I had insisted on staying with her since Shadow-travel can sometimes give you nightmares and I was the only one who knew how to wake her up for a few moments(You have to mix Grape juice with Pink lemonade. I don't know why). But they had insisted that I get some rest. I slept until 10:30 the next morning but refused to leave the camp. I had tried to do some training with some of the other campers but I was distracted the whole time. I spent most of the third day with her, leaving only for meals. Now she was sleeping fitfully, and I didn't know why. I wanted to wake her up, but Chiron said that it might have a negative impact on her for the rest of her life. So all I could do was watch her toss and turn throughout the day. The previous day, a bunch of the campers had come in to see her and try to figure out who her parent was. The Aphrodite kids ooed and aahed and said that her mother must be Aphrodite because she was so beautiful. She was beautiful, I realized. She had long, light brown, wavy hair and green eyes. Her nose was a little sharp, but her face was round. She was about the same height as Nico, (5' 4") and looked about the same age (14). She was skinny, but not so skinny that she looked emaciated, and looked very strong. The only thing that didn't look quite right was the many scrapes and scars that covered her arms, face, and legs.

**Hey, I apologize for the bits where all there is only a couple of empty punctuation marks. There were supposed to be Greek Words there, but the Fanfiction refuses to recognize it.  
>Sorry about that.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Demetri's POV

I woke up to some girl rubbing foul smelling herbs on my upper arm. "What are you doing?" I screeched. That was my most honored scar, the one thing in life that gave me satisfaction. Sure, I had tons of scars, but this one was important. This scar was given to me by the Cyclops that killed my father. I then killed it in return. It was my way of honoring my father. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nico leap up. I hadn't even noticed he was there. He half jumped half walked to the bedside. Bed? I was on a bed. Hmm. I looked around, almost forgetting about the scar. I was on a small, comfortable bed in a wooden house. There were pale blue curtains drawn over a window. Some of the four walls that surrounded me were painted a color that was somewhere between yellow and white, but some of the walls were just straight wood. There was also a nightstand next to my bed, and it had a rather tall lamp on it, as well as a digital clock. It was 4:30 PM.I turned back to the girl-doctor. She looked rather surprised and slightly offended, but she didn't try to put more herbs on me. "You're awake!" Nico said. "duh." I retorted. "You can move everything, right?" he asked anxiously.

"I think so…" I tried moving my arms and legs, my fingers my toes, I breathed deeply, and last but not least, I wriggled my nose. "Yep. I'm stiff, but alive. And I'm hungry. Is there anything to eat in this place? Wait." I added immediately. "Where exactly am I?" I asked quietly. Nico responded hesitantly. "We are at the Big House; in Camp Half-blood."

"Ah, yes. Half-bloods. I see."

Nico turned to the girl. "Could you please leave us for a moment?" he asked politely.

The girl looked skeptical, but nodded and left. Nico turned back to me. "Yes, half-bloods."

"And you are one?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes."

"And she is one?"

"Yes."

"And….I am one?"

"Yes."

"hmmmm…half-bloods are half human half Greek God, right?"

"Right."

"So….Who's my mom?"

"We don't know yet."

"How do we find out?"

Nico sighed. "The only way to know for sure is if you're parent claims you. Otherwise, we can only guess."

"How do I get claimed?"

"You're parent sends a sign to float over your head. Something that's always associated with them."

I sat up in my bed. "So…who's your parent?" Nico tensed. I don't know if it was just my sleepy eyes, but it definitely looked like he tensed. He stared at me, his eyes boring into my skull. I wondered if he was angry, or sensitive, or if he really did belong in the Loony Bin. It took what seemed like forever, but he finally answered. "Hades." Hades. The Lord of the dead. If he lived underground, How the heck did he get a kid up here?"I see…" I realized how much more sense Nico made now that I knew who his dad was. He always wore black. Dead giveaway. His shirt had a skull on it. Duh. He made me shadow travel against my will. Well, there you go. Nico, son of Hades. Great. I've got a son of the dead standing next to me, hoping that I'll stay alive. That's probably a change for him. I decided not to mention that. "So….. Do you always attack kids and force them to sleep for long periods of time?" he blushed. "It was only four days. I slept for a week the first time. Besides, I didn't originally attack you, but you were being really annoying. ."

"Yeah," I said, smiling. "I'm good at that."

"Tell me about your past. It'll help us figure out who your mom is." He said slowly, trying to change the subject. OK, I thought, go with the flow. I opened my mouth to speak. "I—." I shut it again. If there was anything I had learned from my past, it was that you couldn't trust anyone, especially when you are weak. "None of your business!" He sighed. "Please don't make me attack you, or use a special underworld plant to make you tell the truth." I glared at him. He glared back. I gave him my best death glare. He gave me his best death glare. Oh, he was good. I suppose he would. Son of the God of the dead has a good death glare. Big surprise. I sighed. "You got a pretty good death glare, kid." He grinned. "You're not so bad yourself, _kid._"

"Hmph." I leaned back and crossed my arms, pretending to be cross. He laughed at the face I made. His laugh reminded me of a bird; a repeated "HAHAHaHaHahahaha" that got quieter as it went. After a couple of laughs he inhaled, which I'll admit looked pretty funny. I chuckled a little. He glanced at me, now finished breathing. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing at all."

"When people say nothing it always means it's something."

"And that sentence makes sense how?"

" In many different ways."

"Go on. Enlighten me."

"Well, first off, you say something; I ask what, you think it doesn't matter anymore, so you say "nothing." Second off, you could say something not meant for me to hear, so when I ask "what" You say it's nothing to make me think it doesn't matter. Third off, In a completely different form, If you are quiet for a long time it means that you're thinking about something, therefore, If I ask what's wrong, you say the word "nothing", but it is very clearly something." He nodded, finished.

"Congratulations," I told him. "You are the first person ever to make my brain go cross-eyed. What are you, a psychologist?" He laughed again. Then he held out his hand for me to shake. " Hello, I am Doctor Nico di Angelo. Now I want you to lean back and relax; don't' be afraid, I am a Psychologist after all. Don't be afraid to speak your mind." I laughed and shook his hand. He pulled a chair from the corner over to the bed. The chair had a book in it, but I couldn't read the label. "What are you reading?" I asked. "Oh it's just a bunch of poems by Edgar Allen Poe. He does a lot of scary stories and poetry."

"Oh…" I was slightly disappointed, though I didn't know why.

"Let's go do something."

"What?" His voice faltered.

"You heard me. Let's go do something." I stood up. Nico gaped at me. "How can you do that?"

"Do what? Stand up? Have you never seen someone stand up before? Let's go!" I promptly walked out the door as a loud conch horn sounded from below me. I jumped. "What the heck was that?" Nico stood up. "It's dinner time. Let's go get something to eat." My stomach growled in reply. I walked down the long hallway and descended down the stairs, Nico at my heels. He looked paler than usual, and I wondered when he had last eaten. I jumped over the last two steps and he stumbled behind me. I caught him as he tripped over the last step. "Are you okay?"

Nico groaned. "No, I haven't eaten all day…"

"It's no wonder you're falling over. We've got to get some tacos in your tummy!"

He managed a weak laugh. I responded by dragging him out the door. "Hey!" he yelled indignantly "aren't you hungry?" I asked. He shrugged. "Well, I am!" and I walked out the door. There were lots of tables, but some were stuffed full of people and other had only one or two kids. I didn't understand why they didn't just use they space they had. Nico walked silently beside me. "Why are some of the tables so crammed?"

"It has to do with your parents are. If your dad was Hermes, you'd have to sit with them." He pointed to a couple of tables filled with a bunch of kids all smiling and laughing and poking each other. They all had mischievous smiles and upturned eyebrows. I was not going let them see the 3 dollars that I had found over the past month and kept for emergencies. "But if you're dad is Hades, You get to sit there." This time he pointed to an empty black table. "So….Where do I sit?" He gestured to the Hermes tables. "You're undetermined. Since Hermes is the God of Travelers, they'll take you in until you get determined." I frowned. I'd never dealt with these sorts of people. How do you protect yourself from a friendly robber? I sighed. "OK," I walked over to the Hermes Table, with Nico watching me the whole way.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"AAAAAAACCCHHHH!" I screamed as a Hermes boy named Kyle slipped an ice cube down my shirt. I whirled on him. He was leaning back against the wall in the Hermes cabin, laughing his head off. "YOU IDIOT! What the heck was that for?" He pointed to a boy next to him. "He said you were tense, and thought you ought to chill. We thought we'd help you with that." He said while trying not to laugh. "AAAAARRRGGGHHH" I yelled, hoping they would take it as a point to stop laughing. They didn't. I glared at them. Direct violence wasn't really my style, but revenge was and I was really angry. Most people are smart enough not to cross me. I marched up to him, my blood boiling. I grabbed his shirt and lifted him up. "Don't you ever, EVER do that again!" Travis Stoll, the head councilor, came running up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Demetri please put Kyle down._ Now._" I scowled and slowly lowered Kyle to the ground. The moment my grip loosened he scuttled away to his bunk. "Demetri, you need to calm down. Why don't you take a walk?" Travis said awkwardly. "Sure. Send the weird new girl into the forest. Maybe she'll get eaten and we won't have to put up with her." I grumbled angrily. I hadn't meant for them to hear it, but Travis scowled. "Take a walk. Let it all sink in." He said. "Fine." I stomped out the door, grumbling angrily to myself with the unhappy Hermes cabin watching me go.

I hadn't walked too far, but I was starting to feel better. It was about midnight, and the half-moon was out. There were a few clouds, but they were far off in the distance. I sighed contentedly. The breeze smelled of the ocean, and the grass shone a silvery-blue in the moonlight. I was immediately calmed. I sighed deeply, savoring the night. I decided to walk down to the lake to sit on the pier. As I walked I felt as though I was being watched. I subconsciously felt for my dagger, which I had found by pure luck in the cave I lived in for a few years. I walked onto the pier and sat down, took off my shoes and socks, and stuck my feet in the water. I knew it would be dangerous with all those water nymphs in the lake, but I didn't really care and the water felt nice cool against my toes. I unsheathed my dagger as I recalled the night I found it. It had only been a week since my father had been killed when I found it, and only a few days since I had killed the monster that killed him. I had heard about orphanages and refused to go, so I ran away shortly after the Cyclops death. I ran and ran until my feet could carry me no farther. I fell asleep beneath a cypress tree. When I awoke it was night and there was a bear and her cubs nearby, but they only looked at me curiously and moved away soon. I walked this time, for the darkness concealed me well. Dawn soon threatened to arrive and so I started looking for a place to sleep. It started to rain, and although I loved the rain, I knew it could make me sick and spoil the small supply of food I had taken from my house. As lightning flashed, I saw a hill. There was a small stream running by…Was that a hole in the mountain? Perhaps it was empty. Perhaps there was a bear in it. I shivered as the rain fell harder. I decided to take my chances. As I climbed the hill, I grew weary and by the time I reached the cave my knees were buckling. _Please don't let there be a bear! Please, please, please no bear…" _ There was no bear, but there were some shiny things in the corner. I was bone tired, but curiosity won out. I crawled to the corner, not minding the dirt that clung to the knees of my soggy pants. There was a small bag, it had some sort of dried herbs in it, but as I saw what had been shiny, I caught my breath. It was a dagger, a silver dagger. Its handle was simple, not meant for decoration but meant to work. Its sheath was sitting nearby, it was made of simple black leather, though what animal it was from I couldn't tell. I picked it up carefully, almost as though I thought that if I dropped it I would die. After that night I never went anywhere without that dagger. I called it " " or "Silver". My father was half-Greek, so he taught me Greek as he taught me English. He said it might come in handy one day, but I could never figure out why. Nobody spoke Greek there but my father and me. Now I understood. I would be able to use Greek in this environment quite well. I stared out across the water. The moon seemed so close to the earth that it almost looked like a sliver, setting sun. The water rippled where a fish touched the surface. Peace at last. If only life could always be like this. I heard heavy footsteps behind me. I was instantly reminded of my life on the streets. _Pretend you can't hear it…_ I hesitated a moment more before I estimated it was about 6 feet behind me. _Now!_ I jumped up, my feet dripping, and spun around. As I spun, I let go of Silver. It flew through the air silently and pinned some black cloth to a pier post. It was Nico. "What the heck are you doing? I thought you were a monster!" Nico's eyes were bulging with fear, but he spoke with contempt in his voice. "What are you doing out in the middle of the night? If the Harpies find you they will eat you!"He glared at me as he pulled the dagger out and handed it back to me. "Nice throw, by the way." I ignored the compliment. "Harpies? I've fought off hundreds of them. Why should I be afraid of Harpies? All you have to do is stab them. They don't have any armor." He sighed. "I just think you should be more careful. What are you doing out anyways?"

"Nothing, much. The Hermes cabin tricked me, so I did the natural thing and threatened to beat 'em up. They told me to take a walk. They'd probably be happy if you were a monster and ate me."

"Aw, don't say that. They probably sent you out so that you could let the whole "Greek God" thing sink in!"

"You should have seen Travis's face when he told me to take a walk. It reminded me of a hungry ogre. And trust me; I've seen plenty of them before." Nico laughed.

"I'm sure you have." As I looked at Nico, and then the water, I began to feel very comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that I felt very uncomfortable. I slipped my socks back on, even though my feet weren't dry. "I had better get back before they think you did eat me!" I joked. Nico stood up as I tied my shoes. He looked unhappy. I stood up and walked back to the solid ground. "I'll see you later." He managed a wave in reply. "Later!" Now I felt even worse as I trudged back to the Hermes cabin.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

When I woke up the sun was shining right down on my face. So, naturally, I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. No luck. I sat up. I was sitting in a pale blue sleeping bag in the middle of the Hermes cabin. I was surrounded by other sleeping bags and everything I could see was a mess. Bed-sheets and sleeping bags were not made, Peoples packs were open and had stuff was spilling out of them, as well as kid's clothes (especially their socks) being strewn across the floor. That's when I noticed something. Nobody was in those unmade beds. The sun was high overhead. I was late for breakfast! I got up and brushed my hair as quickly as I could, put on an orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and jeans, and I dashed out the door. I stopped after running about 20 feet, because I realized that I really had slept late. The sun was almost directly above me. It was almost lunchtime. I sighed. _Well, Demetri, You finally get free meals and you somehow manage to miss most of them. _I had no idea where the rest of my cabin was, so I decided to walk over to the dining hall. If I'm always late, this time I'll be early. When I got there, I walked over to the Hermes table and sat down. I puttered a bit, humming and looking around, but I soon got bored. I started to look at the engravings people had drawn on the table. There was a horse….and a cat…and….WOAH! There was a beautiful dragon, It had two heads spewing fire and it looked so real… I wondered if there were any more dragons. I must have been really immersed in looking at the engravings because I didn't notice Chiron walking up behind me. "What are you doing here, demigod?" I blushed and turned around in surprise. "Nothing. Nothing at all. I just missed breakfast and I don't know where my cabin is and I thought since I might mess something else up so I thought I'd come to lunch early." The words came as a rush; I felt unnaturally nervous under Chiron's gentle stare. Chiron's eyes bored into mine. "Do you have any idea who your mother is, Demetri?"

"N-No," I stammered. "I don't. To be honest, I've tried not to think about it. Why?" I added. "Do you know?" I was hoping he could help me, but he only shook his head. "No, my child, I have idea, but I dare not mention them for fear of being wrong."

"So that's it? You're not even going to give me a hint just because you're afraid?" I asked boldly. To my surprise, Chiron laughed. It was a short, light laugh, like a horse nickering. "If your father was the God, It would be Ares. No, I will not tell you who your mother is, but I will help you to think about it. Tell me, what is it that you like to do—a lot?"

"Eating?" I said, changing the subject. I was afraid of what this conversation might lead to. But I was hungry."When's lunch?" Chiron laughed again. "Very well, I can see that you don't want to talk about it anymore. That's alright. Oh, and lunch is in about 10 minutes."

I ate a lot at lunch. So much, in fact, that I had difficulty walking. However, after some groaning and a few trips to the bathroom, I was ready to join the Hermes cabin in an archery lesson. As I walked to the field where they were practicing, I breathed in the scent of the trees—though now I knew that they were dryads. I actually thought it was pretty cool that the trees really were alive….I saw something move behind a pine tree. Then again, it probably was the pine tree, just in humanoid form. I ignored it. I heard a twig snap behind me, making me jump with surprise. I kept walking; it was probably just some curious young dryad. I heard heavy breathing followed by a loud snort. That was definitely not a dryad. I turned around just in time to see a giant boar try to leap on top of me. Quick as lightning, I whipped out Silver and tried to stab its eye, but it was clearly skilled and simply turned its head so that my dagger would bounce harmlessly off its blood covered tusk. I took a risky moment to size it up; it was about 4 inches taller than I was, had huge shoulder muscles, and had 2 foot long tusks that curved upwards. The boar stood still and blinked at me with beady eyes. Then I realized something. It was standing still because I was standing still. It wouldn't retaliate until I moved. This gave me a slight advantage. I could carefully plan out my next move so long as I kept still. _Let's see…its body is short, so if I attack its hind end, it won't be able to—_my hand twitched and my train of thought crashed as a wave of fear swept over me. Within the same moment my hand moved the boar leapt. I flattened myself to the ground just in time. I glanced up to see the boar leaping over me, thrashing his head wildly. If I hadn't lain down I would have been shredded like paper. I leapt up while its back was turned, hoping I could kill it quickly, but no such luck. It whipped around, breathing noisily, and glared at me with tiny, evil eyes. I had just enough time to freeze, but I had never realized how hard it actually is to keep your entire body still. My thumb wriggled involuntarily. The boar leaped at my face, but this time I wasn't fast enough. His tusk scraped my face as I went down. I stifled a scream of pain as I gripped Silver tight. I tried to ignore the pain and decide what to do. If I could drop back to the ground fast enough, I could stab its belly as it leaped over me. Good. I have a plan. There was only one problem: I took too long thinking about it, and now the boar was frozen again, waiting for me to move! I couldn't leap up and fall down again fast enough could I? I realized there was only one thing to do; take a risk. I would have to leap up very quickly and either sidestep, stab, or drop down, stab. It was my only chance. I leapt up, but my loss of blood was slowing me down. I couldn't sidestep fast enough; his tusk scraped my shoulder as he ran by me. I fell over and tried to stop moving, but I was panicking ad I couldn't stop shaking; I would have to end this fight _now, _before I had time to get wounded again, or collapse from loss of blood, or die. My face was still bleeding heavily and my shoulder's blood had already soaked through my shirt and was trickling down my elbow. The boar turned, ready for the next blow. I took a step forward to so that I was still in the fight. My plan was to sidestep and stab (again), but the boar was much faster this time. Perhaps it knew I would lose soon. Not a second had passed since I stepped forward and the Boar was nearly upon me. I started to move, but it was too late. Time seemed to slow down. I could feel the Boar's left tusk piercing my stomach, and the pain was almost too much to bear. I knew I had to strike before he completely gored me. My only thought was "kill" and as I lifted up my hand I could feel my blood flowing and my heart beating. I brought down my silver dagger right between the eyes of the horrid beast, and watched with slight satisfaction as terror filled its eyes and it evaporated into dust. I fell to the ground, clutching my stomach and wailing in pain. I screamed, hoping someone would help me, but I had only enough energy and breath for one. The pain engulfed me. I could no longer think, I could hardly see but what I could see was horrible. I was bleeding. I was dying. I was as good as dead. Then I heard voices. For a moment, I forgot the pain and had hope. But it was barely a millisecond before I remembered my wounds, for no pain that great can be forgotten for long. The pain seemed to have tripled, as though it had not been hardly a second but many years since I had last felt pain, and It was making up for it now. Someone was standing over me, holding a box. It was probably a healer from Apollo's cabin. "Kill me!" I gasped desperately. I wanted the pain to stop, I didn't care how. But he paid no mind and pushed some gauze onto my face, trying to stop the bleeding. I heard more voices. I tried to look around, but it made me so dizzy I felt like throwing up. I was surrounded by people, though. The noise level told me that. But most of them were speaking of things I didn't understand. I heard a girl near me say loudly what the others were whispering. "She's the one from the prophecy. She must be. She killed the Wild Boar." And then everything turned into nothing.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

I woke up on a golden couch, surrounded by a field of short, green grass. The sun was shining brightly down on me, and I sat up, confused. Did I die? Was this heaven or—if the Greek myths were true—The Underworld? I looked down at myself. I was wearing a clean, orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt and a clean, non-ripped pair of jeans. Wasn't I gored by a Wild Boar? I must be dead. Suddenly I was overwhelmed. I must be dead. I thought of all the things I had wanted to do with my life, things I wanted to say, do, experience. My one chance was gone. I was dead. I nearly burst out in tears, though I would never tell anyone else that. But before I became completely consumed in self-pity, a bright light appeared about 20 feet in front of me. I closed my eyes; the light was so bright. When I opened them I was surprised to see that a young man had stepped out of the light and begun to walk towards me. He looked about 18 and had sandy yellow hair. He walked towards me with a confident, playful smile on his lips and a mischievous glint in his pale blue eyes. He was wearing a dark blue T-shirt and a leather jacket and jeans. "Demetri!" He said, spreading his arms wide in welcome. He sat down next to me on the couch, making me kind of uncomfortable. He leaned forward and looked at me closely. "And how are you on this lovely morning?" I glanced at him. "Am I dead? Who are you?" I asked, ignoring his question. He sighed. "Just like your mom, eh? Straight to the point no matter how sharp it is. He stared off into the distance, and he suddenly seemed much older. The bright sunlight made his hair seem grey and the playful smile was replaced by a worried frown. His shoulders seemed to sag with weariness. He shook himself. "Don't worry, my dear. You are not dead." I almost gave out a cry of relief as he went on. "And I am Apollo, God of Poetry, Music, Healing, Prophecies and the Sun." I almost gasped again. I tried to calm myself down, but It didn't seem to work. _OK, so you're sitting on a couch in the middle of a field next to the God of the Sun. No big deal. _Now, when I was first told that Greek Myths were real, it made sense and everything, but I couldn't really believe it. Sitting here, probably in a dream, talking to Apollo, I definitely believed every last myth. Whoa. Greek Gods are real. He gave me an amused smile. "No need to hyperventilate." As soon as he said it I realized that my breath was coming in short, shallow gasps. I made an effort to breathe like a normal person. "Why are you here?" I asked, trying to sound calm (and failing miserably). He looked out across the sunny field. "Tough times are coming. Battles will be fought and lives will be lost. Cheesecake will be eaten. But that's just life, isn't it?" He turned back to me. I gave him my best questioning stare. "Cheesecake?"

"Yes, Cheesecake."

" I take it that you like cheesecake."

"Yes."

I leaned back. "Well, this has recently become slightly awkward."

"Indeed."

We sat there for a few moments before I remembered my initial question.

"You must have a good reason for being here." His eyes bulged slightly as though he had just remembered something. "You must be prepared for when you wake up. Me being the God of prophecies, I know what's going to happen. But I cannot tell you. When you awaken from this dream you will have a whole lot more to deal with than some wounds. Oh, and that reminds me" He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small pouch. It smelled so strongly that my eyes teared up a little as he handed them to me. "Those will help you with you healing process. It will speed things up a little bit, help you get on your way,"

"On my way?" I asked, but he held up his hand. "No time. I have to go now. Remember what I said."

"Cheesecake gets eaten?" I said, and he chuckled as he answered.

"No. Be prepared for when you wake up, and remember that you cannot change the future, and whatever is the past you will just have to get over." And with that he faded away into a flash of light. I closed my eyes, but I swung my arms out in front of me, trying to catch him. I wanted to ask him more. He might tell me who my mother was. But I felt nothing.

I woke up wildly flailing my arms. Nico and a girl who looked about ten years old leaped back as I opened my eyes. I tried to sit up immediately, but I gasped as I was forced by my pain to lie down and be still. I could feel a burning, tingling sensation on the right side of my face and my left shoulder. But my stomach had a slow, burning feeling that seemed to get worse every second. I started to shake. Pain was not something I ever dealt well with. I always went into shock, thought I was dying and ended up with a scar and a terrible memory. That's the reason I don't remember much of my "journey into the city". It was so painful that I made sure that I never thought of it. If you asked me where that 3 inch-long scar on my left leg came from, I couldn't tell you. Anyways, I was sitting in a bed in the big house (why do I keep ending up there? Oh yeah, because stuff keeps knocking me out!). Nico leaned over me, now that I was done flailing. "You seem better."

I snorted. "Hardly."

"Well, the fever's still here and you haven't stopped bleeding yet. To be honest, we thought you'd be unconscious longer. We weren't even sure you'd make it. However, you are moving a bit and talking rationally, so I'd say that luck's on our side." Suddenly I remembered Apollo's pouch. "No, but Apollo is." Nico gave me a funny look so I told him about my dream, and showed him a pouch full of herbs. "These are magic, I'm sure of it. But why would Apollo be helping you? It's rare that the Gods ever help a half-blood." A tall girl with blonde hair walked up to my bed. "Because Apollo is the God of prophecies."

"So? And who are you?" I said.

"I am Fern, Daughter of Apollo. And the reason that Apollo being the god of prophecies matter is that you are part of one."

"WHAT?" Me and Nico shouted at the same time. Chiron walked through the door and glared at Fern. "I had decided to wait until Demetri was healed. You know that."  
>" But the time is now! The secret must be brought to justice, or there will never be peace!" Fern growled in reply.<p>

"We do not even know what the secret is, let alone understand it to be dangerous."

"ARGH!" Fern stomped out of the room.

"Rather dramatic, that one." Chiron sighed, trying to lighten the mood. He failed.

"What's this about a prophecy?" I asked quietly.

"Forget it, my dear; just a slip of the tongue. You will find out soon enough anyways."

"Nico, Hand her the herbs." Nico handed the pouch to an Apollo girl who was still here, trying to stop my bleeding. She dipped them in a bowl of water and put them on my wounds without hesitation. I instantly felt its healing powers. I no longer felt constant pain, it was actually fading. I watched as my wounds healed themselves and I felt instantly rejuvenated. I stood up. Nico and the girl gasped. I glared at Chiron and repeated myself. "Now, what's this about a prophecy?" Chiron shook his head. "Sit down and rest and heal, child, and I will bring you Adele."

I remained standing. "Who is Adele?"

The Camp's Oracle." Nico broke in. I sat down, but continued to glare at Chiron as he went to fetch Adele. I hated it when people kept secrets from me, or tried to treat me like I was inferior. Many people have tried to do that. Most are not alive anymore. I was no one to be trifled with.

When Adele came in, she seemed to confuse everyone. She was short, but thin. I would guess her to be eleven. She had long, straight auburn hair that seemed to float. She filled the room with chatter, commenting on the weather and hoping I would get well and saying Nico looked well and complimenting the Apollo girl (that was when I then found out her name, Christen) and saying that Chiron didn't look a day older than a foal. Chiron finally managed to calm her down, and asked Christen to leave. He wanted Nico to leave, too, but Nico refused. Chiron only frowned. "Alright, Adele. Repeat the prophecy, please."

And with that Adele seemed to be staring at something no one else could see, and then her eyes glowed green. I began to get scared, but I was careful not to show it. Then she began to speak:

"She who conquers the wild boar,

The pain of it, no other could have borne;

Will go on a journey to save the day,

But by Power will be delayed;

The Forbidden Child, the Dead Hero

Will reveal all truths and friends will be foes."

And with that Adele's eyes rolled up into her head and she fell down, unconscious.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7:**

I couldn't sleep. I had tried everything. Warm milk, hot cocoa, counting sheep, thinking the word "sleep", meditating ( I can't meditate, but I was really desperate)….Nothing worked. I had the prophecy on my mind. _The "Forbidden Child"? The "Dead Hero?"_

I continuously thought of that line. Something was very important about that line, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I groaned in frustration and rolled over in my bed. Why did I have to be part of a prophecy? It's just like me to manage to get so much attention. It was the last thing I wanted, so naturally I got lots of it. _Forbidden child…..Forbidden child…Forbidden…_ "ARGH!" I yelled. I was so tired and I could make nothing of anything. Curses! I hate this camp! This was the point at which I had my own personal temper tantrum. I didn't deserve any of this. I didn't deserve to be forced to go to some camp where I was knocked out and disliked and nearly killed by a Wild Boar, I didn't deserve to be stampeded by every monster in the universe, and I didn't deserve to have a dead father! It wasn't fair! All of these stupid people trying to get me to do something, expecting me to be great. I didn't want to be. Stupid Fern, Stupid Chiron, Stupid Nico! Stupid, Stupid, Stupid! I stood up and picked up small glass cup sitting on my nightstand with both hands and squeezed it, squeezed it tight. Suddenly, it exploded into a thousand tiny pieces of glass. I suddenly felt a rush of guilt. These people were trying to help me, make me safe, make me prepared, and I had broken their glass. I sat back down on my bed and looked down at my bleeding hands and felt a rush of emotion. My face was suddenly hot and I was sweating. I nearly cried. I held back the salty tears threatening to run down my face, and I stood up again and walked over to a table near the window. There was some gauze on it, and I slowly, carefully wrapped up my hands. I was not a minor. I could deal with anything. I was the one of the prophecy, who bested a Wild Boar with nothing but a dagger and her wits. I was the girl who could go anywhere, do anything, and be anyone. I was Demetri Mason, and there was nothing Demetri Mason couldn't do.

A young girl was overlooking a small lake. She looked only about 12 years old, but in actuality she was much, much older. She had auburn hair and a blunt, sharp face. Her silver eyes sparkled with wisdom. _If only,_ she thought, being careful not to talk aloud, _If only I had been able to see what is coming. She will gain much, but she will lose much also. I would not have wished her fate on anyone. If only, If only…_ And with that she stood up, picked up her bow and arrow and walked alone into the night.

The next morning I woke up, surprised that I had slept, but happy all the same. However, I had some explaining to do. I had swept up the glass shards and hidden them, but the bandages were still intact. I couldn't take them off. I made up a story for Nico about How I couldn't sleep so I walked around and tripped and landed on my hands and scraped them. However, Fern demanded to make sure my "scrapes" weren't infected. Well, she didn't say anything, but I'm pretty sure she guessed what happened after she asked where my cup went. Oh well; you can't keep your secrets from everyone all the time…I'd found that out the hard way, and I was sure to find out again…..I shook my head. I couldn't think about this now. Nico just walked in with a new glass of water. He handed it to me, smiling. "Are you feeling better now?" I looked down at my hands. "Yep. I'll be ready to become a normal demigod, whatever that means, quite soon." He smiled. "I'm afraid that we'll be doing something far from the norm."

"What?"

"We have to find out what the problem is with the Gods."

"I haven't noticed a problem."

"The Gods," He hesitated for a moment, probably trying to build suspense. "Are having a fight." I frowned. "Well, they are family, right? This can't be new. I mean, isn't Hera still angry about the whole "cheating" thing?" He sighed. "Well…yes, but now they are fighting about something they've never argued about; secrets." I laughed. I felt bad for the kid, but I laughed. "Secrets? You don't think cheating is a secret?" He frowned. "Of course I do, just….This one's different. All they know is that one of them has a secret; a really big secret. But no one knows what the secret is or who it belongs to. So, As soon as you get better we're going to Mount Olympus." I nearly gasped. " The Mount Olympus? The one where the Gods live? Isn't that in Greece?"

"No."

"But in all the stories-"

"It's not in Greece. You see, The Greek Gods follow the "Western Civilization". So, since Western Civilization is here, in America, all The Gods stuff moved over here, including Mount Olympus." Nico explained calmly.

"But in the stories it was over…..The real Mount Olympus? What, is it over the Appalachian now?"

"No, It's over the Empire State Building."

"The….Empire State Building….."

"Yes."

I had some trouble wrapping my mind around that.

"So…..We have to go to New York…"

"Yes."

"And walk into the Empire State Building…"

"Yes."

"And then…I'm not really sure what to do then…" I looked to Nico questioningly.

"We take the elevator to the six-hundredth floor."

"To…the six-hundredth?"

"Yes."

"But it only has two-hundred something….right?"

"Yeah, but The Gods Palace is farther up than that."

"But the elevator can actually go that high?"

"Sure."

"And we're going there?"

"Yep."

I sighed. _Well, you've already had a pretty freaky week, why not put that on top of your ice cream cone?_


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

"Are you sure you're ready?" Nico asked anxiously.

"Of course I am. I've had a week to heal."

"From being gored by a wild boar."

"Yes."

Nico was driving me crazy. I couldn't stand up without him freaking out. I could look after myself perfectly fine, thank you. Even Chiron didn't watch me as much as that boy. I wasn't even used to being looked after. Since my dad died, I was on my own. Even when he was around he always made sure I could look after myself. I climbed out of my bed and told Nico to scram. He looked startled, but then he walked out the door, leaving me to myself. I was wearing a nightgown, but I didn't like it. It was a perfectly nice nightgown, I suppose, but I hate wearing anything but pants. Dresses are a pain. You can't hardly sit and tie your shoes if you're wearing one. It is a moral standard for me not to wear skirts or dresses or anything like that. I never had much trouble with that, since it's easier to steal jeans and a T-shirt than a dress. But now I was "severely injured" and Fern made me wear it. After two and a half hours of arguing I passed out, literally, and so Fern took it as surrender. Fighter, that girl. I stood up. I felt a little light headed, but I walked over to the table by the window. There was a pair of brand new jeans and an orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt sitting on it. _Maybe I won't ruin these…_ Or maybe I would end up lighting myself on fire…. One way or the other. I changed quickly, despite the feeling of nausea that came over me. I was not a fast healer. I wobbled to the door and opened it. I cautiously walked down the stairway, not being afraid at all to use the hand rail. Each step I took the more worried I grew, because I knew that I couldn't keep up the charade that I was perfectly healthy for long. But they all believed that this big secret must be found and the culprit brought to justice etc. etc. blah blah blah…. I couldn't care less. The Gods aren't happy with each other? I couldn't care less. But I knew the rest of the camp thought it was important, and they thought I was the one to do it, so I might as well just get it over with. To tell the truth, the only reason I was insisting we go ahead and start the journey was that I was getting so bored and restless. I couldn't sit one more second in that room, let alone another day. Otherwise, I would wait until I was sure that I was completely healthy before we started. Ah, good. The last step. I took one more wobbly step down and nearly fell over. It would have been "fell over" but Nico was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Big surprise. "I told you that you weren't ready! I'm going to call it off."  
>"No! I mean, all I did was trip. The stairs are very old. I'm perfectly fine. See?" I stood up perfectly straight, ignoring the wave of nausea that hit me hard. "I'm fine." Nico didn't look convinced, but he didn't say anything. Come on; let's go get something to eat. Suddenly a thought came to me. "Oh darn." I said. "I have to sit with Hermes; great, just great." Nico chuckled a bit, then beckoned for me to follow him to the dining hall.<p>

"No!" Ares yelled. "I do not. Why would I have one?"

"Oh, you've had many. Don't play games with me, boy!" Hephaestus yelled.

"Boys! Stop arguing this minute or you're both grounded!" Hera yelled. There was some grumbling, but at least they had stopped yelling. "Now," she continued her talk; if she couldn't hold this family together, no one could. "They are about to launch the quest, even if I doubt the strength of those children I'm sure they'll come through and find out what secret and who it belongs to. Until they get here, we must all remain calm and polite, so try not to blast each other into the sky." She added as she frowned at Ares. "What? I haven't done anything… yet." She frowned deeper. "OK, OK, I see your point." Ares grumbled. Hera looked around. Zeus and Athena were sitting on a white couch, not facing each other and sitting on opposite sides. Hermes was trying to look innocent while standing next to an angry Apollo and a broken lamp. Demeter, Artemis and Aphrodite were glaring at each other in the corner. "I suggest we talk about something else!" Demeter said loudly. Aphrodite suddenly turned on her. "And what else is there to talk about?" Demeter glared at her, but said nothing. Aphrodite snorted. "I thought so." Demeter stood up. "If you want to start something—"

"Ladies! Let's not start this again. How about this; I'll pair you all up. Zeus, you can be with Demeter, Artemis and Athena, Hephaestus and Apollo, and Aphrodite with me. Now, there will be no bickering, no quarreling, no arguing of any kind. No fights either. Oh, Ares, I've left you out. Pity Poseidon isn't here…"

"I'm here!" said a deep, booming voice from the hallway of the palace. Hera smiled. Ares paled. "I don't want to be with old Barnacle Beard. He's been out to get me ever since I attacked his son…" Ares mumbled, being careful to make sure that Hera didn't hear. She heard anyway. "Now Ares, be polite. I'm sure that Poseidon will do the same." At that very moment Poseidon walked into the room. "Ah, Poseidon you are just in time! We are pairing up with partners to prevent any…problems." Poseidon looked a little bit scared. "And Ares is left without a partner. He can be yours! Oh, what excellent timing you have!" Poseidon glanced nervously at Ares. "Can't I just go ride the Pegasi?" Hera frowned. "And leave Ares all alone? Don't be silly." Poseidon sighed and walked over to Ares. "Alright everyone!" Hera chirped. "Get with your partners now! And no squabbling!" Ares sighed. This was going to be a very long afternoon. Those kids better get here fast. At least fighting was something fun to do; now he had to be polite to a god who hated his guts.

I was starting to get a little bit freaked out. The other demigods were continuously telling me how brave I must be, how glad they were that I was better, how much they couldn't wait until I got back… It was pretty scary. I hadn't even got back from the trip, and they were treating me like a hero and their best friend. Before I killed the boar I was that new weird girl you didn't want to get in a fight with. Now no one was afraid of me. I was getting pretty annoyed. I liked it when everyone was afraid of me and no one talked to me and no one worried if I wanted to take a midnight walk. Now it was all "You're so awesome!" and "are you sure you're okay?" or "I can't wait until you get back! We're going to have so much fun!" and all I could do was nod and smile. I decided to take a nap. I walked over to the Big House (I'm still sleeping there; they want to make sure I'm perfectly healthy for the quest). I was careful to be very quiet so no one could hear me going in. I turned around to support the door so that it would close without a sound. "There you are!" I gasped. Oh no. It was Sir-Worries-A-Lot. "What do you mean, "There you are"? I've been in camp all day!"

"Yes, But I couldn't find you. You kept moving!"

"ADHD, remember?" I said, tapping the side of my head. "Besides, I can look after myself!" I liked it better when I was arguing with Nico. Or before I got gored. Stupid Boar.

"The last couple times you have 'looked after yourself' you nearly got killed!"

"ONCE!" I yelled, tired of his care. "Just ONCE I nearly get killed by a boar, and you immediately turn into a Nervous Nellie!"

"You could have died!"

"If you don't shut up YOU are going to be DEAD. And I DON"T bluff." At this I turned and ran up the stairs, my face hardened with anger and sadness. _It isn't fair!_ My mind screamed. I ran into my room and sat on the bed, hugging my knees. "Life isn't fair" I told myself quietly. "Life is never fair. Your father is dead. Monsters are trying to kill you. You have disabilities. You have no friends. Nico will never understand. No one will. Life is never fair." This is what I had told myself over and over throughout my life. "Life is never fair." It was the only thing that kept me from wallowing in pain and self pity. "Never fair, Never fair….." I whispered to myself over and over. Stupid Nico. Life was OK before he found me. Terrifying, dangerous, but I can deal with monsters. People? Not so much.

It was close to Midnight. I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about Demetri, and how she got angry at me for worrying. Stupid, stupid emotions! I had never cared for anyone except Bianca, but she had cared for me, not the other way around. Demetri was different. She was hardened by a life on the streets. She _could _look after herself. It was just that she seemed to have a death wish. And she refused to talk about her past. Why? I shook my head, trying to answer questions that only she could answer. I decided to walk down to the dock. Maybe if I sat still I could figure out how to approach her. I was getting close to the dock, maybe 100 feet away when I heard a noise. At first I thought it was some weird bird and then I realized…someone was singing. The voice sounded faintly familiar, but I couldn't pinpoint the sound. I ducked behind a bush, hoping whoever was singing wouldn't see me. There! I figure on the dock. It was a girl's voice, but I couldn't make out the figure on the dock. I walked closer. She didn't seem to notice me. Her singing sounded lovely, but at first I couldn't make out the words. It was the same simple tune, over and over again for many verses. Gradually I began to understand what she was saying:

_Far, far away_

_Where nothing can ever change_

_Where moonbeams fall softly all over the land_

_And if you're afraid just take my hand_

_Everyone was happy all the time_

_But that was shattered with a lie_

_The accusations flew through the air_

_The shamed one hung her head in despair_

_The forbidden child—_here she gasped a little bit_—came to heal_

_Before the wound was revealed_

_But little did the child know_

_That the wound was her soul_

_She may never understand_

_Why they all let go of her hand_

_She must learn to live and let die_

_This lesson is depended upon by her life_

_Life is unfair, tragedy will strike_

_And she has the strength to do what she likes_

_But emotion may cloud her common sense_

_And if this happens, with death she will dance_

_She has the power to do what she wants_

_Will she stay or join the hunt?_

_No one can deny their fate_

_But your time is not here, your quest must wait._

And at this she buried her head in her knees and began to cry. She was mumbling between sobs "Life is never fair, life is never fair", and it was only then did I realize that the weeping girl on the dock was Demetri.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

I stood staring at her for a moment before running over. I couldn't help myself. The sliver of the waning moon shimmered on the rippling surface of the water, and a beautiful girl stood weeping at its surface. Why do some of the saddest things have to be so very beautiful? But she was crying. She was unhappy. So I needed to comfort her, even though I didn't understand why. I ran up behind her, but as soon as my feet pounded onto the dock she leaped up and turned around with an angry scowl despite the fact that there were tears running down her cheeks. Her eyes had turned from their regular warm forest green to a cold silvery gray. Her hair had a silver sheen in the moonlight, just like the water. Her hands were white with cold, but she held her dagger firmly without wavering. As soon as she recognized it was me, she put the dagger back in her sheath, and her pale cheeks turned red. She was….embarrassed. She was embarrassed because I had seen her cry. Why is that so bad? Everyone cries sometimes. I ran over to her. She turned away. I could hear her start to cry again."Demetri! It's-" She whirled on me. "Go away!" She screamed. Then burst into tears again. Then I hugged her. There are very few times I will ever hug anyone. I have yet to find most of them. I have only ever hugged Bianca, because I was glad to see my sister. I had never hugged anyone else before this moment. I had never hugged to comfort someone. I had never had a friend…Bianca was always there for me, and then when she died, I went on a quest to find out our past and find her again. She shouldn't have died, but if she was still here…I wouldn't have met Demetri. She squeezed me tighter and I felt her tears soak through my T-shirt. The cold breeze blew, but I didn't notice. She kept crying for several minutes before she let go and took a step back. I felt kind of awkward, but she was back to her normal self as soon as the tears had dried. "How long have you been watching me?"

"I wasn't watching you," I lied. "I went for a walk and I saw you crying." Only half the truth. She looked a little suspicious, but she didn't say anything. "Why were you crying?" She looked away. "Pressure. I was worried about…. well everything" She was lying. Why was she lying? She was just singing a prophetic song….Oh... yeah… she was singing a prophetic song… Yeah, that could mess with your emotions a bit. "We should probably go to bed…" But she shook her head. "What, you afraid of the Harpies again?"

I blushed a little bit. "No! But you will need all the sleep you can get before your quest!" She looked away. Stupid me. I brought up something she didn't want to do… "I don't need rest. I'm perfectly healthy. Besides, I can't sleep." She had dark bags under her eyes. She seemed much paler than she had before the Boar attacked. She was not as healthy as she pretended to be. Why was she trying to convince us all that she was okay? How could most of those people believe her? My thoughts were distracted as Demetri sat down and put her feet into the water. "Why do you spend so much time here?" I asked. I had only seen her here twice, but I know she went out just about every night. She hesitated for a moment, and I thought she was not going to answer, but right before I was about to ask her again, she spoke. "It's nice out here, at night. It reminds me before the time I became a loner; when I was happy, and nothing was threatening to kill me yet. It was nice then."

"Why did you become a loner?" The scowl was on her face before I asked the question, as if she had been anticipating the question.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." I added, afraid she would insult me. Her face cleared and she shook her head. "No… I need to tell someone." She took a deep breath. "I became a loner because my father died. After his death, I made my first kill by murdering the Cyclops that killed him. I did not want to go into foster care, so I ran away. I found this dagger and some herbs to heal the wound he had given me." She subconsciously felt for her upper arm. _So that was why she got angry at the Apollo Healer. They were trying to heal the scar she had gotten in honor of her father. _"I lived in the country for 5 years. Last year, I decided to go to the city. There were even more monsters there, but I stayed anyways. That's when you found me" I looked into her eyes. I could always tell when someone was lying. She wasn't lying. So much more made sense now. I could tell that there were bits of her story she was leaving out, but as to what they were, I had no clue. She looked back at me. Her eyes, which were silver just a moment ago, were a deep, chocolaty brown. I can't pretend that I wasn't tempted to kiss her. She was beautiful, she finally trusted me enough to tell me her story, and now she was looking at me with big, beautiful, brown eyes. _Don't be stupid! _I told myself. _She could never like you that way; and if you kiss her now, everything will be ruined! _I dragged my eyes back to the water. "Please don't tell anyone." She whispered, so quiet I could barely hear. "I won't." I stood up awkwardly. "We should probably go to bed now." I held out my hand for Demetri.

"What is it with you and sleeping?" She asked as I helped her up.

"For you information, I regard sleeping as a highly elaborate system that creates not only energy, but also a decreased amount of arguments and a lack of headaches."

She smiled a bit. "Oh yeah? So what happens if you don't sleep?"

"You get grumpy."

Demetri laughed. She didn't laugh very often.

"Well, come on then, we don't want you to get grumpy! You're annoying enough when you're not!"

I punched her in the arm. "Come on! We don't want me to get grumpy!" I said, laughing as I pulled her along.

The next morning Demetri was the same as ever. She didn't seem to be angry at me, but she wasn't like she was the night before. I was sitting on the couch in the Big House, waiting for Demetri to go to breakfast. And I was trying to figure out how to tell Demetri; how to tell her that she was scarred for life. I tried very hard to ignore it last night, but there was no denying the long, pale scar on her left cheek where the Boar had scratched her face. The likelihood that the scar would fade completely was quite low. We had tried to use magical herbs, but they heal wounds, not scars. I knew that when I told her she would be angry. But the question is, how long can we get away with it? I don't like lying, but Demetri's anger was not something to be taken lightly. On the other hand, if she found out herself, she would be even angrier .I heard the door close upstairs. I was surprised that Chiron had let her stay in the Big House so long. She hadn't been claimed yet, which was a surprise. Usually kids are claimed within a week or so, and it had been more than two weeks. Besides, she was already fourteen and she should have been claimed a year ago. _What if she has already been claimed?_ A part of me said. _Impossible; why would she hide that? _ _What if she's not even a Demigod? _

"Nico? NICO!"

I looked up. Demetri was standing in front of me, waving her arms wildly.

"Done being frozen?" She asked.

"I wasn't frozen."

She snorted. "Sure, whatever you say, snowman."

"I'm not a snowman!"

"You go right ahead and believe that."

I stood up. "Let's go get some breakfast."

"Okay, Mr. Snowman." She giggled a little bit and walked out the door. Have I ever mentioned her giggle before? It reminds me of a sheep. But a very cute sheep. A lamb, perhaps. But don't tell her I said that.

I followed her out of the door, trying to wipe these silly thoughts from my mind.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

I trusted Nico. Then again, I didn't. My brain was all in a fuzzy jumble. I was almost sure that he had heard me singing, though how much of it he heard, how much he understood, I don't know. I sighed tiredly. My thoughts were going nowhere. I stood up from the Hermes table, my belly comfortably full. I was very impressed that this time I didn't feel dizzy. But I wasn't ready. I knew I wasn't ready for the quest, but I pretended anyways. We left for the quest tomorrow, and I was still feeling sick when I woke up, woozy if I stood up to long, and nauseated if I tried to run. I think Chiron knew how I was feeling, but allowed me to keep up the charade for the sake of the quest. He only made me take the Arts and Crafts class, as well as Fern teaching me Greek history and Nico vaguely training me to use a sword. Fern, though she was a healer, had no mercy for me, and so I spent three or four hours a day learning to speak Greek and learn about the monsters we may fight. She was amazed at how well I caught on to Greek, but she didn't know that my father was half-Greek. When I was little, I learned to speak English with a Greek accent, like my father. When I was four, he started to teach me Greek. By the time I was seven, most of our conversations were completely in Greek:

**Me****:** Γεια σου, μπαμπά. Πώς είστε σήμερα;

**Dad****:** Γεια σας .Είμαι καλός.Πώς ήταν το σχολείο;

**Me:**

**Dad:** Κακό;

**Me:** Ναι.

**Dad****:** Γιατί;

**Me****:** Επειδή.

**Dad****:** Μπορείτε πάντα να πω κακό, αλλά γιατί είναι κακό;

**Me****:** Κάνουν πλάκα μου. Δεν συμπαθούν τους Έλληνες.Δεν μου αρέσει.

**Dad****:** Αυτό είναι γελοίο, Δημήτρη! Πώς μπορεί κανείς να μην αγαπάς; Είναι φανερό ότι όλες οι χαζός πουλιά

**Me****:** Νομίζουν ότι είμαι ο χαζός πουλί.

**Dad****:** Αλλά είναι τέτοια χαζός πουλιά που δεν μπορούν ακόμη και να λένε ότι είναι χαζός πουλιά!

**Me****:** Ο δάσκαλος δεν ξέρει τι σημαίνει στα ελληνικά ... ... Ποτέ δεν τα αλιεύματα τα άλλα παιδιά προσβλητικό μου ... Τώρα μπορώ να πάρω πίσω σε αυτούς και δεν θα αντιληφθούν καν δική τους άγνοια ...

**Translation:**

**Me: **Hello, Papa. How are you today?

**Dad:** Hello Demetriaki. I'm good. How was school?

**Me:** Bad.

**Dad:** Bad?

**Me:** Yes.

**Dad:** Why?

**Me:** Because.

**Dad:** You always say bad, but why is it bad?

**Me:** They make fun of me. They do not like Greeks. They do not like me.

**Dad:** That is ridiculous, Demetri! How can anyone not love you? They are obviously all dumb birds.

**Me:** They think I am the dumb bird.

**Dad:** But they are such dumb birds that they cannot even tell that they are dumb birds!

**Me:** The teacher does not know what "Dumb Bird" means in Greek…She never catches the other children insulting me…Now I can get back at them and they won't even realize their own ignorance…

And as I finished talking we both erupted into laughter. That was my last real conversation with my father. That's right. There was no "I love you", no "have fun at school", just me and my father laughing evilly into the night. When I had woken up the next morning, he had already gone to work. I was not surprised, merely unhappy. But I didn't know that by the time I got back from school, my father might as well have been dead.

I was still baffled. I don't even know why I'm baffled this time. I'm so confused that I don't even know what I'm confused about. In a flash, I decided to take a walk. I checked the watch Chiron had given me. 2:46. A little later than I usually take walks but maybe it's for the best. Maybe Nico wasn't prowling around the camp, making sure I was safe. Man, that boy sure is paranoid. Way different from when I first met him. Then, he had seemed to plunge into danger for the sake of safety. Now…He was just paranoid. I slipped on a black hoodie; one of the privileges of belonging to the Hermes cabin. They are willing to get (more likely steal) just about anything so as you repay them. When Chris Shwartz demanded I pay him, I told him I'd repay him by not slitting his throat. He gulped and gave me the hoodie. He had seen me in action. I know it sounds awfully harsh to threaten to kill someone for a jacket, but the truth was that I had nothing to pay him with. I suppose I could have helped him with a prank or get some information or something, but I was afraid of getting socially involved with these people. It was weird enough that I have Nico stalking me and having conversations with Fern every day. For someone who rarely talks at all, I'm progressing fast; too fast, in my opinion. Before I came to camp, I hadn't had a real conversation since my father died. There was the girl who lived in the town I stole from for many years…But we always spoke in quick hushed tones, afraid of being caught. I almost felt like I left her behind when I "moved" to the city. I tiptoed out of the door, cautiously glancing at the other cabins to make sure no one saw me. I shivered and tucked my bare hands under my armpits as the chilly breeze tried to freeze them. I cursed as I realized I had forgotten my dagger. _Oh well, _I thought. _You probably won't ne- _I stopped myself before I finished the thought. _Famous last words! _I turned around and quietly crept back up the stairs. I grabbed my dagger and practically ran out the door despite the pain in my stomach as I tried to go faster. I wanted a nice long walk and it was already late. _Maybe I'll stick to the woods this time; Nico knows to look at the lake for me. _I crept into the woods on cat feet, barely making a sound. I was now glad that I had brought my dagger. Here I had to worry about much more than Nico._ Creep! _I thought mercilessly. True, I liked Nico a lot, but he seemed almost….Obsessive. _But you still asked him to come! _The more annoying part of my brain said. We left for the quest tomorrow morning, and I had chosen my co-questers earlier that day. I actually didn't know I wasn't going alone until a few days before. I chose Nico and Fern. I chose Nico for obvious reasons, but I chose Fern because she was the only other person in the camp that I might call a friend. But she was also clever, an excellent fighter, and a healer. That last skill would be important, especially since we had no idea what we were up against. She was also second in command of the Apollo Cabin. _I can't believe the quest is tomorrow! _I thought as I stepped over a small broken branch. I hesitated for a moment, listening, but upon hearing nothing I walked away. _All right. _I told myself sternly while making sure I didn't say anything aloud. _Tomorrow you will be leaving on a quest with Nico di Angelo and Fern Haert. You must go to New York (even though you have no clue where that is) and find the Empire State Building. You must take the elevator up to the six-hundredth floor (even though you've never been in an elevator). Then you will be in Olympus. You must then find out this huge secret that one of the Gods is keeping, which is tearing the Great Family apart. Oh, and you'll probably have to kill some stuff on the way._

My hand slid to my dagger in less than a second, and I whirled around, throwing Silver as I turned. A very surprised wolf-like thing exploded into dust, leaving nothing but its jawbone. All the monsters left something behind, and I assume it was some sort of trophy, but the thought of taking the wolf's jawbone sickened me. The idea of taking a part of a dead being because you're proud that you murdered it? I shook my head slowly and walked over to pick up my dagger. My dagger gleamed its natural color in the filtered moonlight, bright, harsh silver. I looked over at the wolf's jawbone. It was a clean white, even the teeth, as though someone had bleached the bone. I picked up silver and cautiously walked away.

.

About fifteen minutes later I was still walking, only I was on my way back. The rest of the night had been uneventful. I had seen a couple of wildcats about 5 minutes back, but they didn't attack my so I left them alone. I was now nearing the place where I had encountered the wolf. I searched hopefully for the jawbone to make sure I was on the right path. My eyes searched for a while but saw nothing. _There!_ I had found the jawbone, but it had been moved. I had left it on the right side of the path. Now it was in the middle, perfectly placed as if it was deliberate. _It_'_s a trap! _ My instinct broke in. My right hand grasped my dagger, practically expecting a giant scorpion to leap out and eat me. However, nothing happened within the next few minutes, so relaxed a bit and ever so cautiously crept around the jawbone. I made it past the jawbone, but I continued to glance in every direction. _So it wasn't a trap. You worried for nothing!_ But my mind spoke too soon.

"Demetri!" hissed a voice, cold and unforgiving. I jumped nervously and turned around, dagger in hand. But there was no one there. "Where are you?" I said, trying not to sound panicked. Out of the bushes came a huge black snake, as fat as my leg with scales as big as my thumbnails. I stood frozen in terror as the great serpent slithered with frightening speed towards me. I tried to move my arm, throw my dagger, but my brain was on lockdown. The snake cut the distance of twenty-five feet in less than second, and by the time I realized that the snake was upon me, It had…..gone past me…I pivoted my body, my eyes remaining on the snakes head. _Oh sure, now you move! _I told my body sarcastically, despite the danger we were both in. Then I saw what the snake was after. A bird, taller than I was with feathers bearing a yellow as bright as the sun, was running at top speed towards me on silent feet. _How did you miss that?_ Its red eyes shined with evil as it raced in for the kill. Its beak had razor sharp teeth inside of it. It had not yet seen the snake. As I watched, the snake coiled itself up and propelled itself into the chilly air. The serpent bit the back of the bird's neck, and the yellow beast gave a squawk so loud it made me drop my dagger to clutch my throbbing ears. I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn't. The snake's movement was mesmerizing. In one fluid moment, it had leapt into the air, bitten the giant yellow bird, fell gracefully to the ground and had slithered back to me. "Demetri, your ignorance surprises me." I looked at the snake, coiled comfortably a few feet in front of me. Its voice sounded odd…..It had an accent! Then I realized it had been speaking Greek the whole time. I looked closer at it. Its green eyes pierced with intelligence. I glanced behind it. Nothing remained of the bird but a single golden feather. "The feather may be beautiful, but if you touch it with your bare hands it will burn you. Also, you would have to explain to Chiron how you got it, and I will not allow that." Its voice was sharp and cold, wise but vain.

"Who are you?" I tried to sound demanding, but I couldn't do it. I was no longer afraid of this slithering beast, but I did not want to kill it. I could tell that it was very old, and I knew that it did not plan to kill me. If it did want to kill me, it was wise enough to have let the bird kill me. I am simply known as " s s" I understood his Greek immediately. He was "The Dark Serpent". And for good reason too. He was entirely black, more than fifteen feet long, with every scale seeming twice as dark as the last. The only part that wasn't black was his dark green eyes. Wait, no…pale blue. Weren't they green a moment ago? "Yes, my eyes change color. They are the only part of me that is never black as the night." I stared at him. "Can you read minds?" He started making repeated hissing noises. I was taken aback. What was that supposed to mean? I can't read minds, you know. It took me a moment to realize that he was laughing. Snake Laughter. OK. "No, hatchling, I cannot read minds. But all humans, or at least demigods, think alike. I can tell by your facial expression and where your eyes are focused what you were thinking of."

"Why are you here?"

"To deliver a message."

"From whom?"

"Myself, of course! Did you think I was taking messages for those mouse-brained Gods? Of course not! Instead, I am here to meddle."

"Meddle?" I frowned.

"Yes. I think it is ridiculous that they are sending you out with so little information and mystery! Also, I have not been involved in a quest for a good 100 years and I am deeply hurt by Chirons indifference."

I raised my eyebrows. "Go on, then."

"This little bit of information will push you a long ways in your journey!" He hissed dramatically. He paused a moment.

"Come on!" I said impatiently.

"No need to rush! I'm just building suspense!"

I sighed.

"The night is not to be trusted."

I snapped my wandering gaze back to him. "What?"

"The Night is not to be trusted."

I frowned, confused. "I don't understand!"

I could've sworn he smiled. "You're not supposed to."

"Is that it?"

"Oh, no. You must beware the day too."

"Well, how am I supposed to go on living?"

"Oh, and that's another thing. Enjoy death while you can."

"What? How is that even possible? I'm alive!"

He did his snake laughter noise again. "Well, it's getting early, and I have many places to slither! I'll see you later!"

"Wait!"  
>"Remember, don't trust the night. Beware the day. Enjoy Death."<p>

**I am sure that you noticed the blank spot during the Greek conversation; I apologize for that, I couldn't get the computer to recognize thatbit. The word was "Kakos" which means "bad" in Modern Greek. Oh yeah, and all of the Greek I use in these stories is actually Modern, not Ancient, because I actually know how to speak Modern Greek.**


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

I was still thinking about The Dark Serpents words as I packed for the quest. How could I not think about it? I shook my head in frustration. The worst part about his ominous words? I understood one of the lines. I had no clue what the other two meant, but just the one was enough to drive me crazy. I could allow no one to know about my meeting with The Dark Serpent, because they might learn what that one special line meant. But now I was doubting if I should go on the quest. I had to be the worst person to choose. But maybe that's just how it needed to be… I shook my head again and forced myself to focus on understanding the other lines. But by the time I finished packing, I had figured out nothing. I have found that sometimes you can be looking so hard for something that you can't see it when it's right in front of your face. I feel like that right now. I decided to stop thinking about it. Maybe it will come to me later. Last night I had almost decided to tell Chiron about it, but I remembered what The Dark Serpent had said. "… You would have to have to tell Chiron how you got it, and I will not allow that." I'm sure that the snake was not joking. If I told Chiron, he would probably find me and finish what that golden bird had started. I stuffed a couple of last minute items into my backpack and slung it over my shoulder. I trotted down the stairs despite the fact that it left me sweaty and out of breath. I had gotten over most of the headaches and nausea, and now the problem was mostly that I was left very weak. I was incredibly thankful that Argus had offered to drive us to New York. (Actually, I don't even know if he can speak. I just know that he's driving us to The Empire State Building). Chiron and Nico greeted at the bottom of the stairs. Chiron was in centaur form and Nico in stalker form. Fern was there with a rather serious face. Chiron had briefed us about the quest during breakfast, so all we had left to do was go. Nico, who stood patiently waiting for me in his usual black attire, had picked up his backpack the moment I stepped off the stairs. Chiron nodded to me and gestured for us to follow him. I walked out the door as Nico tried to fall in step with me. Fern walked behind us. I tried walking faster, but I couldn't pass Chiron. Just as I expected, Nico leaned over to me and whispered in my ear. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Of course!" I hissed a little too harshly. He looked a little dejected, so I added on to my words.

"I'll be fine. I've been healthy for a while now, trust me, I'll be perfectly fine." These were the kind of words I would use to soothe a small child or animal, but he brightened up a little bit after that. We climbed into the van. We all squished into the backseat, with Fern in the middle. Chiron peered into the van." Now, don't forget what I told you. It's very important." Then he closed the door. I gasped and turned to Nico. "I forgot what he told us!" I was panicked, but Nico just chuckled. "Do you think Chiron didn't expect that? He wrote it down for us."

"Really?" for some reason, that didn't sound like Chiron at all. "Can I have the paper?" Nico nodded and dug around in his black backpack until he found a small, cream colored piece of paper. "Here you go."

I carefully took the paper. Something didn't feel quite right. I carefully held it up and began to read.

_Make your way to the Empire State Building_

_Find out the Secret and who it belongs to_

_Make sure not to offend the Gods_

_Fix any other problems involving the secret_

_Don't trust the Night_

_Beware the Day_

_Enjoy Death_

My heart nearly stopped beating and I had to make an effort to breathe. This was not written by Chiron. The letters had a very spindly and snake like appearance, while at the same time were very bold looking. No, this was most certainly not Chiron's doing. This was The Dark Serpent, trying to make sure I didn't forget what I needed to know. I almost shuddered as I remembered the unforgiving and amused hiss of the Serpent. Nico leaned over, trying to read the note. I pulled it out of his view. "What does it say?" He asked. "Not Much. Basically we have to go to the Empire State Building, Fix everything having to do with the secret, and make sure not to offend the Gods." He just nodded. "Do you know how long it will take to get there?" I asked, hoping to push all thoughts of the note from his mind. "I know it will be more than two hours, but beyond that…" I frowned. "What am I supposed to be doing until we get there?" He shrugged. "I have book you could borrow." I immediately shook my head. "No? Hmm…" Fern broke in for the first time "I have a pack of cards." I shrugged. "That might be fun. But I've never played cards before." At this point Argus clambered into the van and turned the ignition. Fern chuckled a bit. "I'll teach you a couple of games." I tried to look eager. "Okay!"

The following two and a half hours were uneventful. I did learn many card games, though. I really liked them. My favorite was called B.S., although I still don't know what "B.S." stands for, since both Nico and Fern wouldn't tell me. They don't seem like the types to withhold information… But just as I was learning to play Poker, (which involves no poking…), the car stopped. If we were in the city, I wouldn't have been surprised. But, seeing as we were in the middle of the woods, something was quite clearly wrong. "What's happening?" I asked Argus urgently. In response he pointed through the windshield and down the road. Not twenty feet in front of us there was a huge tree; an enormous tree. I'm talking about a tree as tall as the van. And this gigantic tree had fallen right over the road. I knew immediately that this was not a natural accident. Someone had purposely done this. But I didn't mention this idea. Nico jumped out of the car. Me, Fern and Argus followed slowly. "There's no way we can move this. Argus, is there another road that can get us to New York quickly?" Nico asked. Argus shook his head. "And as usual, luck is not on my side." I said darkly. Fern sighed. "If we can't get to New York by car…" I frowned as I finished her sentence. "Then we'll have to get there by foot." Nico nodded stiffly. "Can you fetch my backpack for me?" He asked after a moment. I nodded and ran back to the van. Despite the terror of walking who-knows-how-far, I was glad Nico wasn't treating me like a baby. Even if he had ordered me to do something that I would ordinarily not do if I was commanded to. I grabbed our backpacks. For the first time, I noticed what color my pack was: navy blue. What an odd color to choose. I wondered why Chiron had gotten one that color. It wasn't my favorite color, nor a common backpack color. I shook my head. I had no time to wonder about something so unimportant. I walked back to Nico, black, gold and navy backpacks in tow. "Goodbye Argus. I hope to see you soon." I was confused by Nico's words for a moment and then I realized Argus couldn't come with us. He was just the guy/monster with the driver's license. I nodded to Argus as he walked back to the Van. "Goodbye, Argus. I wish you well." He nodded back and gave me a faint, brief smile. I turned to Nico and Fern. "Alright, let's get this done." And with that we all ran into the woods, and we never looked back.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER12

The next morning, I woke up exhausted. It's not much fun walking through the woods all day. I didn't even know if we were going the right way or not. I was going to wring Fern's neck if she has read that magic map wrong. She also said that going through the woods would be quicker than following the road. I still think following the road would've been a good idea, since it would have road signs and we could ask for directions and maybe even hitchhike. But Nico is paranoid and thinks that everything is a monster. I sat up. The sun was just coming over the horizon, although I couldn't see the sun too well because of all the trees. I looked over at Nico and Fern, who were resting in much more comfortable spots than I was in. Why was that? Then I realized: I was supposed to be on guard duty. Whoops. I sighed. _What's done is done. You'll just have to be more careful next time. _I stretched and climbed out of my sleeping bag. The morning was cold, but I had seen much, much colder days. I just kept moving around as I packed my sleeping bag. I walked over to Nico. He looked much less worried when he was asleep. His face almost looked like a baby's; so smooth and soft and round-looking. I leaned over and poked him. He moaned a bit. I nudged him hard, and he rolled over. He was now facing the ground. Good. Breathing dirt should wake him up. I heard a moan, and then the desired spitting noise. He lifted his face from the ground by pushing his body up with his arms, and promptly rolled back over onto the sleeping bag. "Yeuch!" I smiled. "It's time to be awake." He smiled back. "But dirt is not a healthy breakfast!" I chuckled a bit. "Nonsense! It's very healthy—full of vitamins and minerals and all sorts of other healthy stuff!"

"Oh, I get it now. Dirt is just like Artichokes. Healthy? Yes. Tasty? No." This time we both laughed. "Get up before I deprive you of your Granola Bar!" I said at last, still laughing. It was only then I remembered Fern. I walked over to her bag, but she was already awake. She smiled playfully up at me. "Having fun?"

That afternoon we met only three monsters, which was a vast improvement over yesterdays twelve. They were all minor creatures, hardly worth killing. Fern, Nico and I talked some, but our humor was suppressed by the urgency of the quest and the danger of nearby monsters. Everything went perfectly fine until the night came. I was on guard duty second, so it was about 2:00 in the morning when he Dark Serpent showed up. What is it with this snake? I was calmly sitting at my post, a nice sturdy pine tree, when he slithered right in front of me. "Hello, Demetri." I jumped, even though I already knew he was there. "What is it now?" He hissed a bit in response. "Do you think I'm trying to hurt you? I want to help you! Well, I also want to mess with your head a bit, but I have already achieved that, I'm sure."

"They almost read that note of yours!" I snarled.

"I wanted you to know that I would be around! Watching you!"

"And that doesn't sound creepy at all." I said sarcastically.

"Look," He hissed in Ancient Greek. "I just want to make sure you don't forget what I said. And to make sure that you choose your friends carefully."

"Wha-What's that supposed to mean!" I stammered out, suddenly dumbfounded. Friends?

"I can say no more!"

"Oh, Come on!"

"I have said too much already." He slithered off.

"Really? Again! Just tell me what you mean! Please!"

But he was already gone, that overdramatic reptile.

Finally! Morning! I thought it would never come. I hastily rolled up my sleeping bag. I hated being on guard, since it gave me too much time to think. At least when we were moving, I had to pay attention to where I was walking. I stuffed my sleeping bag into my backpack went over to wake up the girls. Strange—Chiron had given us all sleeping bags that matched our backpacks. Demetri's was a deep navy blue. I bent over her, and prepared myself to be insulted for waking her up. I was just about to shake her awake, but I caught myself staring at her sleeping face. She looked so peaceful and happy when she slept. I don't know why, but it seems to make me feel peaceful and happy too. I decided to wake up Fern first. "Fern!" I said, shaking her shoulder. "What?" she immediately sat up. "Morning already? Fantastic!" I was surprised by her joy. Then I remembered that she was daughter of Apollo, God of the Sun. She must hate the night almost as much as I love it. "Demetri awake yet?" I shook my head. "She's still sleeping. She seemed pretty shook up when I took guard last night." Fern smiled mischievously. "No excuses! You just like her." I blushed, and wished I could act indifferent. I was a terrible actor. "I do not!" I yelled, just a little too loud. I heard a sleepy groan from Demetri's bag. "I do not!" I repeated, whispering this time. Fern just smiled and shook her head. "No, you most certainly have a crush on her. Otherwise you wouldn't have stuck around camp so long." Well, she had me there. I frowned and stood up, determined to prove to her that I was telling the truth before. I walked over to Demetri, bent over and shook her awake. She looked so startled that I felt guilty, but then I remembered Fern's words and hardened my thoughts. She would have had to wake up eventually anyways.

"Why can't we just find a road?" I yelled. I know I was probably attracting monsters with all this noise, but I was angry enough to kill anything in my way. "No! The map will take us there!" Fern growled through gritted teeth. "The map should have taken us there yesterday!" I shouted. Nico stepped in between me and Fern. "Guys, calm down. We can figure out a solution without shouting."

"Stay out of it!" Me and Fern yelled at the same time. I was still furious, but at the same time, I knew he was right. I sat down on a nearby log, grumbling. Fern turned her back, also grumbling. I heard Nico's exasperated sigh as I fiddled with a twig. "How about we find a road, ask for directions, and we consult the map to ensure that it's correct?"

I grumbled what might've been a yes. Fern said "fine" without turning back to me. "All right then." Nico said calmly. "Let's move while we still have daylight." But I didn't want to move. I was exhausted. My feet were aching, my head was throbbing and my legs were wobbly. But neither the Healer nor the Stalker had noticed my symptoms, thank goodness. I waited until both of them had started walking before I stood up. But however much I wanted to, however much willpower I had to keep going, it was only a matter of time before my body gave out on me. I can't keep up my charades for long.


	13. Chapter 13

Secrets. Secrets, secrets, secrets, secrets, secrets. I hate them. But I love them. I furrowed my brow in concentration. If only I could focus on something else. If only that wasn't the focus of this quest. If only I didn't have so many… I finally understand the phrase "Ignorance is bliss". I kept thinking about my secrets…I have so many…I shook my head, trying to concentrate on walking. Ten minutes later, I gave into the fact that I have to be focusing on_ something. _No secrets, no secrets, no secrets…Aha! _I can work on figuring out Nico!_ I started analyzing all of the things I could remember about him, and what I thought about it. _I can't go anywhere without being worried for by that boy. (It's annoying, but rather flattering because no one really seems to care about me but him). Nico always makes sure I'm eating and not alone. (He wants to make sure that I'm healthy and feeling wanted, even if his constant presence might seem creepy). _At this point I realized… I had a friend. But it seemed more than friendship (even though I'd never had anyone be my friend except Papa)… Perhaps he thought of me as…his sister? I'd heard that his sister had died, but I hardly seem like a valid replacement. I could get no farther than that. Perhaps he was just the loyal-friend type of person. I glanced at Nico as we walked, hoping to find a clue. The only useful thing I noticed was that he returned my glances…But that probably means nothing to him. I jumped over a log and was hit by a severe headache. I fought back the urge to vomit. "Can we take a break?" Fern and Nico turned around and stared at me. They had weird looks on their faces. "Please?" Nico nodded. "We ought to drink some water anyways." But he kept giving me that weird face. It took a while before I started to realize. No. No, no…this can't be happening. They figured it out. "Um…" I asked cautiously. "What time is it?" Nico bit his lip. "3:45." Oh no. I put my hand to my head. I lost this one. They knew. It was certain. It had only been 20 minutes since I asked to stop. But there was still a slim chance that they wouldn't be sure. I put my hands on my shoes. "I think I stepped wrong. Can we take a rest every once in a while so I can make sure I don't hurt it more?" I waited for an answer anxiously. Eventually Fern narrowed her eyes and said "Do you want me to check and makes sure it's not sprained?" Fear and wit raced to my mouth, both hoping to reach the tongue first. "It's probably nothing, I'm sure. It just hurts, that's all. I'll be fine after a while." Fern slowly nodded her head, as if she had expected this. Nico pursed his lips anxiously. This was it. If they didn't believe the foot thing, then the quest was done for. My head was still aching and I felt nauseated, but I stood up, making sure to put noticeably more weight on my right leg. Nico looked very anxious but stood up with me, holding my elbow to help me. Fern looked so stern I felt like she was glaring at me. "Let's go!" I started walking, trying hard to appear strong and confident. I succeeded for about 6 seconds. Then I fell flat on my face, out cold.

I knew she was lying. I had known it for some time, but I knew she wouldn't like it if I held her back. I watched her start walking, she looked confident, even happy, and I wondered if maybe I was wrong. Then she passed out. I jumped up and ran over to her, making sure I didn't screech like my first instinct had told me to do. Fern quickly but calmly walked over to Demetri and flipped her over as I stood crouching next to her. I had no idea what Fern was doing, but she was a trained healer and she looked very certain, and I didn't know first aid any better than squirrels. "Will she be okay?" I gasped. Fern just nodded grimly. I clutched my head with my hands. I didn't think she was that sick! Otherwise I would have made sure that the quest was postponed. Then again, she would have known I would do that, so…has she been on the verge of passing out since the goring? I moaned inwardly, and looked at Demetri. Does she have to have a death wish? Everywhere she goes, she gets attacked. What is it with the monsters? Do they just think she'll taste better? Suddenly, a thought hit me. _What if it has t do with her Olympian parent? What if she's a daughter of the Big Three? _"Get out of the way." Fern's authoritative voice broke through my thoughts. I bit my lip and went over to sit on the log, where she had been sitting not a minute ago. _Daughter of Zeus? No. She doesn't behave like Zeus's kids usually do. Daughter of Poseidon? No.. Doesn't like water enough. Daughter of Hades?_ I pushed away the thought immediately. That just…Wasn't right. I think I would know if she was my sister. _Are you sure? What if you are wrong and she is your sister? _I shook my head, trying to chase these pesky thoughts from my mind. "Owwwww…." I jumped up. "She's awake, but she's going to have a nasty concussion." Fern warned. I ran over to Demetri. She had a big lump on her forehead where her head had hit a root. Fern pulled out the Ambrosia and Nectar. "This, if we are lucky, will fix most everything. Why she didn't eat some before, I don't know." Demetri moaned again. "She's never had medicine on hand before. She' probably didn't even realize she could use it." Fern just nodded again and stuffed some Ambrosia down Demetri's throat. Then Fern tipped Demetri's head up to give her the Nectar. "More. Please." Demetri begged a few minutes later. "No." I cocked my head. Demetri, asking for help? Using manners? She must have really knocked her head hard… _You know you don't really think that. It's just what she does when she's annoyed, and when you're being the worried parent, she finds that very annoying. _I hit the side of my head, trying to stop thinking like this. Fern said that we have to stay here tonight, since Demetri wasn't healthy enough to move. Hours passed before she was even fully awake. That night, before we headed to bed, we approached Demetri. "Have you been this sick all this time?" Fern asked bluntly. Demetri looked away, suddenly interested in a squirrel. "Yes." Fern breathed out. "Why didn't you tell us?" I was glad Fern was asking all the questions. "Because you would postpone the quest." Demetri said, turning her head back to us. I saw the same wary look in her green eyes that was there the first day I saw her. She was afraid, and now she viewed us as enemies. I wanted to leave right then, I wanted Demetri to be my friend, not trying to ditch me (again). But there was still one question left unasked. Fern narrowed her eyes and asked the question I had wanted answered ever since I met Demetri. " Are you keeping any other information from us?" And I looked straight into Demetri's forest green eyes as she answered.

"No."

And I think we all know that she was lying.

A cold, windy night in unknown mountains, there is the only place the gods cannot see. A sandy-haired young man and a young brown-haired girl squatted in a cave. They spoke as quietly as possible, their voices barely audible to each other.

"The force-field won't hold up for much longer" the man warned.

"Why did you bring me here? What is so important that you must tell me in secret?" The young girl demanded.

"Well…That's just it. A secret. The secret."

The girl widened here eyes. "The secret? Do you know what it is? Who does it belong to?"

The man frowned. "I know, Artemis. I know your secret."

Then the bubble keeping their words safe was gone so fast that you might think it was blown away with the wind, and the man and the girl were gone.


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14**

"I see it! I see it! We're here!" Nico screamed as if he wasn't a day over five. "Maybe you could call a taxi." Fern grumbled moodily. She had been overworked with the whole "I have to guard half the night" and "I have to make sure that Demetri doesn't exert herself too much". I appreciated it a lot, but I wasn't the type to do a lot of "thank you" stuff and "I'll help you" talk. "Hey! Maybe we can!" I chirped. Nico and Fern turned to me, suddenly interested as I continued. "Chiron gave us a couple hundred bucks, didn't he? All we have to do is catch a cab!"

Now, you must remember that I have no experience with using money in the city, (as I never had any), and therefore had never tried to 'catch a cab'. Luckily, Nico and Fern knew how. Not that it was of much use, seeing as how the four cabs we saw almost ran us over. Apparently hiring a taxi off the road is a whole lot harder than I thought. After about an hour, we decided to try hitchhiking. After another half of an hour, we decided to walk. It was weird though, trying to walk casually among people when you looked and smelled like dirt, and knowing that you're half Greek God…Definitely very weird. Luckily, though, no on paid us any attention. Unluckily, the longer we walked, the bigger the buildings. The bigger the buildings, the more people there were. The more people there were, the harder it was to walk quickly. Thus our hurried speed-walk was reduced to about a million "excuse me's" and slow, careful steps.

Have you ever noticed how much harder concrete is than dead leaves? I'd never really paid much attention until now. By the time Nico spotted the Empire State Building, I was certain I had bruised feet. "Can't we just sit down before we meet the Gods?" I asked desperately. Nico sighed as if his feet weren't hurting just as bad as mine. "Fine. Five minutes." I sat down on the hot concrete before you could have said "What, do you're feet hurt or something?" If someone had in fact tried to say that, my answer probably would have been very, very rude.

When we arrived at the door of the empire state building, my feet hurt no less. However, they cries of agony were being ignored by the immense amount of fear and awe that conquered my brain. _Building. _My mind said dumbly. _Big building. Very big building. Very big and apparently tall building. Big and tall building below very bad future happenings… _I decided not to speak aloud for the next few minutes while I taught my brain to speak like an adult. It was a slow process. I think Nico and Fern were getting the "Baby Brain" vibe too…They looked as dumbfounded as if a gorilla had just revealed that it was in fact a collection of ballpoint pens. But I'm getting sidetracked. The point is, Very big and probably very dangerous building. Nico took a breath and pushed open the wide glass doors. The room was very big, very open and very blue. Almost scary, it was, what with all that blue. Blue tiles, blue walls, blue curtains, blue chairs, blue lamp, blue lampshade, blue abstract art with blue frames, Blue pens in a blue pen-holder, Blue flyers, blue tables, blue ceiling, blue counter and a man dressed in head to toe in blue behind it. But he was asleep, so I didn't pay any attention to him or the fact that even his glasses were blue. "Geez, I wonder what the person who owns this place's favorite color is." Nico said sarcastically. Me and Fern smirked and walked over to the blue elevator. Nico dashed up and hit the blue elevator button and grinned. "I love pushing buttons…" Me and Fern stared at him in wonder for a moment before breaking into laughter. We kept laughing until the blue elevator's blue doors opened to reveal an internally blue elevator, with blue walls, blue floors, blue buttons and a very blue chair being sat on by a very not blue man. He wore a burgundy suit and a little burgundy cap to go with his burgundy pipe. He was reading a newspaper, but he lowered it as we stepped in. " What floor?" He asked, his voice like gravel. "600th, please." Nico spoke confidently. The man shook his head. "We don't have that many." He insisted. Nico glared at the old man in return. "Oh come on, Mr. Frederick. You know who I am." Mr. Frederick squinted and looked Nico up and down. After a few moments hesitation, Nico broke in. " Nico! I'm Nico, son of Hades! And that's Fern, daughter of Apollo, and that's Demetri, daughter of one of those"- Here he restrained himself for a moment, took a breath, and began to speak again. "Demetri is unclaimed, we are on a quest, and we have to go to the 600th floor to complete it. Will you please take us there?" The man frowned a little and stuck his tongue out at Nico as he pressed a button that I was sure hadn't been there before.

I don't like elevators. They make me feel dizzy. I've only ridden one once, as I flew out of Olympus last time, but…I really don't like elevators. I'm not a big fan of Mr. Frederick either. But that's besides the point. The point is (probably) I really don't like that particular elevator. The dizzy thing was just an excuse. I personally blame that elevator for working properly and delivering us into a place that brought about many overly dramatic happenings that mainly consisted of…I'm getting ahead f myself. The point is, I don't like that elevator. There, I said it. Nothing personal, Mr. (Ms.?) Very Blue Elevator, I just don't like where you tend to go. I should probably get back to the story, but I don't really want to. It gets darker after this. Well, there's some humor first, but directly after that it's very dark. And now that I've stopped, I may as well say a couple of things before everything gets all overly-dramatic. First off, I don't really trust any of the people I know. Including Nico. Second, I have never gone swimming or written a story or looked at a computer before. Third, I have one…two….three, four…..five….yeah, five major secrets that no one else knows, except for one particular being, unless you count that stray cat that I talked to before it got hit by a car. I still miss Georgie…Anyways, fifth off, I have never had a friend before, unless you count my dad. You may already have realized this, but I just want to be clear. Sixth: If you ever do something to make me truly, really angry, I do not forgive. Ever. Even if you're dying. I have a heart of stone.  
>On that happy note, I will let the story go along as it should have some time ago when I didn't really feel like it.<p>

I stared. I stared some more. I continued to stare. My eyes refused to close and leave the beautiful sight in front of me for less than a second. It was that good. I couldn't stop breathing, the air was too perfect. I couldn't block out any sounds and think, because every noise was beautiful music. Actually, most of it was music. I didn't realize what Nico and Fern were doing, because I couldn't. Then Nico stepped forward and beckoned for us to follow him. I didn't pay any attention to the gesture, but he just seemed to blend right in with the perfect scene. I realized what I just thought to myself, shut my eyes tight and shook my head a bit before I opened them again, and almost froze up…again. In other, shorter terms, I was in Olympus. I never wanted to leave. Not ever. Well, I did, but that was later on. "Demetri, come on. I'm hungry, and trust me, you've never eaten good food if you have never eaten on Olympus." Said Nico. "I've never had good food, period." I grumbled. But I followed him, as did Fern, saying nothing as usual.  
>We walked for a good while, but I didn't mind any of the excruciatingly painful steps because everything was just so darn beautiful. But it wasn't the kind of beauty tat you could get tried of, because it was a very simple beauty… I sighed girlishly, and then inwardly scolded myself for being such a girl. We rounded a corned and some bushes that looked remarkably like Honeysuckle only to find a man sulking on a bench. He was a very large man, with very tanned skin and very dark brown hair. He looked like a warrior from Sparta or something, but minus the big helmet. "Ares?" Nico exclaimed excitedly. The man looked up to show us a very sharp face that looked very used to scowling. The moment he saw us, he jumped up ecstatically. "You're here at last!" He shouted in a deep, booming voice that somehow managed to come out with the enthusiasm of a young girl. "I hate you all for existing, but I'm so very glad you're here!"<p>

**I'm no terribly fond if this chapter and the few before it, but for a lack of anything better, I posted them.**

**I hope you enjoy them, and I am already halfway through the next chapter.**


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